Hantises
[Holy Records]
Here is yet another disc that upon first hearing it, I dismissed it as utter crap. But, knowing full well that much black metal doesn't stick on the first listen, I decided to give Frozen Shadows' second full-length, 'Hantises', another few spins. Well, as is my usual conclusion, this isn't as bad as I first thought. In fact, some of it is quite good.
Frozen Shadows hail from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Their brand of black metal reminds me of a more ambitious and expansive Marduk mixed with early Enslaved. Unlike a lot of BM bands, their sound lies in the use of a more traditional chordal approach guitar-wise. So many bands nowadays use the tried-and-true tremelo picked style, so this feature is a nice change. They mix up tempos and feels quite a bit, and they seem to be decent musicians, especially drummer Melkor. Keyboards are employed somewhat sparingly, more for atmospheric purposes than melodic ones. Overall, their songwriting style is of a simpler, old-school approach (a la Darkthrone), but again, with a bit more ambition and imagination.
Quite honestly, the only two songs I found really interesting are "A L'Ombre du Mal", an 8+ minute epic with tons of tempo and feel changes, and "Through Fields Of Mercilessness", another long track. I wish the band would have written some more of these type of songs, as they show a real knack for the epic style. Much of the rest of the album is pretty standard fare, and the instrumental "Darkness Enfolds", is rather bland.
As is with many black metal releases, production is subjective. Personally, I like a slightly more lo-fi sound in this type of BM, and 'Hantises' has that sound. The guitars are somewhat mid-rangey, and the vocals are pushed back a bit in the mix. The drum sound is a bit trashy, with a boomy rack tom sound. At times, even the bass guitar can be heard quite well. This type of sound would never be good for other genres, but here it works just fine. It has a "refined grimness".
While I can't highly recommend this album, I do think that Frozen Shadows is a band to be on the lookout for in the future. If they can tighten up their composition skills a bit and find their own voice, they will be a force to be reckoned with.
[Holy Records]
Here is yet another disc that upon first hearing it, I dismissed it as utter crap. But, knowing full well that much black metal doesn't stick on the first listen, I decided to give Frozen Shadows' second full-length, 'Hantises', another few spins. Well, as is my usual conclusion, this isn't as bad as I first thought. In fact, some of it is quite good.
Frozen Shadows hail from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Their brand of black metal reminds me of a more ambitious and expansive Marduk mixed with early Enslaved. Unlike a lot of BM bands, their sound lies in the use of a more traditional chordal approach guitar-wise. So many bands nowadays use the tried-and-true tremelo picked style, so this feature is a nice change. They mix up tempos and feels quite a bit, and they seem to be decent musicians, especially drummer Melkor. Keyboards are employed somewhat sparingly, more for atmospheric purposes than melodic ones. Overall, their songwriting style is of a simpler, old-school approach (a la Darkthrone), but again, with a bit more ambition and imagination.
Quite honestly, the only two songs I found really interesting are "A L'Ombre du Mal", an 8+ minute epic with tons of tempo and feel changes, and "Through Fields Of Mercilessness", another long track. I wish the band would have written some more of these type of songs, as they show a real knack for the epic style. Much of the rest of the album is pretty standard fare, and the instrumental "Darkness Enfolds", is rather bland.
As is with many black metal releases, production is subjective. Personally, I like a slightly more lo-fi sound in this type of BM, and 'Hantises' has that sound. The guitars are somewhat mid-rangey, and the vocals are pushed back a bit in the mix. The drum sound is a bit trashy, with a boomy rack tom sound. At times, even the bass guitar can be heard quite well. This type of sound would never be good for other genres, but here it works just fine. It has a "refined grimness".
While I can't highly recommend this album, I do think that Frozen Shadows is a band to be on the lookout for in the future. If they can tighten up their composition skills a bit and find their own voice, they will be a force to be reckoned with.
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| Tracklist: 01. As Old As Time Itself 02. Des Siecles d'Epitaphes 03. Battered Souls 04. A L'Ombre du Mal 05. Through Fields Of Mercilessness 06. Darkness Enfolds 07. Strangled By Fear 08. Towards The Chambers Of Nihil |
| Rating: 6/10 |
| Release Date: 2004 |
| Length: 50:49 |
| Review By: Chris Paul |
| Total Reviews: (1) |
| Bands Website: Go Here |
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